Increased generation capacity and the desire to incorporate smart grid technology in the power grid has generated much interest in solid state technology replacing legacy mechanical breakers. Solid state replacement of mechanical breakers offers response time improvements of orders of magnitude while significantly improving the lifetime of the switch by eliminating electrode erosion. Solid state breakers, unfortunately, introduce higher losses under normal conduction conditions compared to mechanical breakers and often require bulky cooling systems.
There is a need for a solid-state breaker with lower losses under normal conduction conditions.